Much of the landscape is formed by remnants of the eastern side of the Waitākere Volcano, notably the pillow lava formations seen along the cliffs south of Muriwai beach.

Muriwai Beach has black sand, caused by the iron content derived from the ancient volcanoes in the area, including the large Kaipara Volcano which was situated offshore from the Kaipara Heads, and erupted 23-16 million years ago.

[9] Te Kawerau ā Maki and Ngāti Whātua fought over the area when the latter settled south of the Kaipara Harbour.

[12] The southern Muriwai Beach area was also known as Paenga Tohorā, referring to the many whale strandings that happened in the location.

[10][9] Other pā and villages to the south-east of the beach included Matuakore, Te Toheriri, Ngārihariha and Tirikohua.

[11] It refers to the Te Muriwai, a kāinga located upstream of the beach along Ōkiritoto Stream,[9] which over time became a name for the river valley, and eventually for the wider area.

[12] During the late 19th century, John Foster established a flax mill at Muriwai, stopping in 1893 when this became less economically viable.

[15] During World War II, the New Zealand Government feared that the Japanese army could invade Auckland along the west coast, landing at Muriwai.

During this period, a United States Marine Corps camp was established at Muriwai, in part due to these fears.

[17] In February 2013, filmmaker Adam Strange was killed at Muriwai Beach while swimming about 200m offshore, when he was attacked by a small group of great white sharks.

[20] Initial reports suggested the culprit was a bronze whaler, but it was later deemed more likely a great white was to blame.

One of several popular beaches in the area (others include Piha and Karekare), it experiences a population explosion in summer when Aucklanders head to the sea.